The majority of PCNs are experiencing difficulties as they recruit into these new roles.  Here are 10 challenges PCNs are grappling with:

1. Understanding the Role

Just because a PCN has recruited a social prescribing link worker (for example), it does not mean the practices in the PCN understand what the social prescribing link worker should be doing, or that the new incumbent understands what they are to do in the new PCN environment.  There are a growing number of examples where this basic lack of clarity on both sides is leading to the early breakdown of new roles.

2. Recruitment Capacity

Many PCNs are recruiting as many as 10 new roles all at once.  This involves creating job descriptions, developing different job adverts, shortlisting from maybe 100 applications, interviewing up to 50 applicants, negotiating 10 job offers, creating 10 contracts and putting in place 10 induction plans.  It is a huge amount of work for any PCN, and many PCN CDs are finding the scale of the required work simply overwhelming.

3. Line management

There is a huge challenge introducing a new role into a practice, let alone a PCN.  The change process involved creates tensions within the practices in the PCN and inevitably for the new role incumbent.  These individuals require line management support, in addition to making sure their equipment, annual and sick leave is being managed.  Many PCNs initially underestimated the line management requirements of the new roles and are finding it difficult to create the additional capacity needed to support the new recruits.

4. Location

General practice is not sitting on lots of empty space, and a huge challenge for PCNs as the new roles start is finding the clinic space for them to operate out of, as well as identifying desk space for their permanent base.  There is no obvious remuneration for this (there are only so many times you can spend £1.50), and so unsurprisingly it is creating internal disputes between PCN practices.

5. Clinical Supervision

The new recruits come with varying levels of experience.  In particular the physician associates currently being recruited are often still to sit their final exams, let alone have any years of professional experience.  The clinical supervision requirements, particularly when these new roles first start, are significant, and PCNs are often relying on the goodwill of individual GPs from across their member practices to ensure these are met.

6. Professional Development

Each of the new roles requires support and a plan for their continuing professional development.  There are pathways laid out for some of the roles, for example for the clinical pharmacists, which again require significant input from the PCN.  Health Education England is providing some resource to training hubs to support this, but in many areas this is not converting into the tailored, individualised support that PCNs require.

7. Ownership

Who exactly do the new recruits into PCNs work for?  PCNs are not legal entities, and while they may comprise of the member practices, practices in general see the PCN (and so the new recruits) as separate to themselves.  New recruits often arrive but end up not really being owned by anyone, as they work for a PCN that no one really owns.  If a new recruit does not feel they belong anywhere, or that anyone really wants them, it will only be a matter of time before they start looking elsewhere.

8. Additional Costs

The ARRS funding formula is rigid in terms of what PCNs can claim for.  Each additional role generates its own set of additional costs.  In some of the bigger urban areas this even includes salary costs, before we even get into some of the unfunded delivery costs.  Normally a business generates income to enable these costs to be met, but the nature of the PCN contract means there are very few ways PCNs can generate additional income (the potential impact of the Investment and Impact fund looks limited).  Given these costs it is hardly surprising that enthusiasm for additional roles from PCN member practices is often somewhat muted.

9. Monitoring Impact

One of the key ways any new role establishes itself in a new environment is by demonstrating the value it is adding.  While there are some examples of some of the new roles starting to do this, e.g. first contact physiotherapists demonstrating a reduction in the number of GP appointments and secondary care referrals, for many of the roles there are no clear impact measures in place.  However they are funded, practices need to see the value the new roles are adding.  Otherwise it will be only a matter of time before discontent with the additional time and cost burden of the new roles reaches unsustainable levels.

10. Retention

It is unsurprising given all of these challenges that even where PCNs have been able to recruit the new starters often do not stay for very long.  In part this is due to the huge number of additional roles being recruited by PCNs up and down the country and the seller’s market this is generating, but primarily it is because PCNs haven’t had the time, capacity or support to work through many of the challenges above.  The result is many new recruits are moving on quickly.

It is when you think about the extent of these challenges that the assessment of some GP leaders I have spoken to that we are still 12-18 months away from feeling the impact of these new roles starts to make sense.  It is going to take that long for PCNs to establish the systems, processes and ways of working that will enable these new roles to thrive and flourish.  In the meantime what PCNs need is support and assistance to help them get there as quickly as possible.